It Doesn't Matter To Me
by Redan
Summary: She accepted him for who and what he was and in return he showed her a life she didn't think existed. [A chance meeting in Madam Malkin's leads to life changing decisions. Is it true love? Or will they be destined to live their lives alone after all..] Remus & Daniella is Redan.
1. A Chance Meeting

**A/N: This story's pairing came about from the world of Harry Potter Roleplay, where I was so lucky to find an amazing co-writer. This story you see here isn't a joint effort, but without that original Roleplay #Redan would never have existed and I don't feel it's right to take all the credit. #Redan is an extremely special pairing to me and I hope that you guys all love it as much as I do. Thank you. **

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Two hours. That's precisely how long she had been sat behind this desk, bored out of her mind.

Daniella was not a woman who coped well with boredom, and she'd desperately hoped when her aunt Flora had asked her to keep an eye on the shop, that there would be more to do than this. She half snorted, her aunt would probably say sitting behind the desk was an important part of the job, presenting customers with a good first impression when they entered the shop and that she should be grateful to be given this particular task. Her eyes lazily flickered over to the small clock that sat on the desk. It was ticking loudly, a maddeningly irritating noise that only seemed to mock her and the fact that she was alone as it echoed around the shop. She let out a deep puff of air from her mouth and rested her chin on one hand, tapping the nails of her other hand against the wooden surface of the desk; surely there had to be something she could do?

Pushing her seat back from the desk, Daniella stood and slowly began to wander around her aunt's shop. It was one of the well known shops in Diagon Alley, and looking at the garments that stood on display and the quality of the work that they possessed, it was easy to see how nearly every witch and wizard knew of Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions. A part of her envied her aunt's skill, but what Daniella lacked in seamstress skills, she more than made up for in drawing designs for the clothes. Not that her aunt Flora would ever let Daniella design anything for her shop, but she still kept a little sketchbook in which she drew various dress designs.

Daniella was just in the middle of examining what appeared to be an extremely intricate hemming stitch on one of the many dress robes that were hung on display when the small bell above the door tinkled. The echoing noise that the bell made round the quiet shop caused her to jump and she proceeded to knock over one of the mannequins as she turned to see who had walked through the door. "Oh bother!" She exclaimed, her cheeks burning a bright red as she desperately set about trying to pick it up so that she could attempt to save some of her dignity.

"Please, let me help you"

Daniella's head jerked up at the sound of a man's voice and she smiled sheepishly at him as he quickly strode forward and bent down to help. "Thank you" She murmured, the flush of her cheeks lessening as her eyes moved over his features. "I think I should have stayed sitting down" She added with a light laugh as between them they placed the fallen mannequin back in it's rightful place, not that he would have any idea to what she was referring.

"No harm done"

Daniella nodded softly at the man's words, appreciating them and the genial smile he gave her. His deep brown eyes seemed to sparkle with amusement as he glanced around the shop. This brief moment of silence between them allowed her to properly look at her hero of the hour. He was tall for starters, although not much more so than herself. Brown hair with small flecks of grey that were only noticeable upon closer examination. Then there were the scars that lined his face, each one varied in length and depth and she wondered how they'd been inflicted upon him. There was something else about him too. Although his whole demeanour spoke of a kind and without a doubt, most gentle man, it seemed as though he didn't wish to be seen; as though disappearing into a large crowd of people would be most satisfactory to him.

"Is Madam Malkin in? Only I've a serious need of her skills right now"

The sound of his voice snapped Daniella out of her reverie, her teeth softly sunk into her bottom lip and she shook her head gently, her blonde curls bouncing slightly as she did so. "I'm afraid she isn't. Can I help?" She suddenly tutted at herself, the previous flush of her cheeks returning as realisation sunk in that he had absolutely no clue who she was. "I'm sorry, where are my manners!" She gently held out her hand to him and smiled brightly. "Daniella Malkin. I'm Flora's niece"

The man's face lit up with a warm smile and he took her hand in his. "Remus Lupin. And as I'm sure you're aware, I need some new dress robes"

It was only after this last comment that Daniella even noticed his general appearance. His current dress robes had clearly seen better days, in fact, his entire outfit looked like they'd been through hell and back. He was still handsome though, in a rugged way, in fact he was in her honest opinion far more handsome than most of the wealthier customers who sauntered into the shop; he was modest and modesty was an admirable quality in her eyes.

"Well Mr Lupin, I can take your measurements and I'm sure my aunt Flora will attend to your order as soon as she returns" Daniella spoke softly and smiled at him. "Perhaps, we could choose the colour and fabric whilst you're here too?" She tilted her head gently to one side as she looked at him before lifting her hand to point at the reams of fabric that were stacked on the shelves in the far corner of the shop. "Between you and me, that's one of my favourite parts of the job" She added with a soft giggle. "Only don't tell my aunt, I don't think she'd be too happy to hear me say that!"

"I promise that I shall not breath a word of your confession Miss Malkin. And as I'm completely clueless about fabrics I shall let you make that decision, especially if you enjoy it" He grinned and lifted his arm as though waiting for her to take the lead. "After you"

Daniella smiled almost shyly at his words and gesture, he was also a perfect gentleman it seemed. Her eyes flickered to the small clock on the desk as she led the way to the back of the shop and a small triumphant smile tugged at her lips.

Two hours and twenty minutes, and she was no longer bored.


	2. She Is Pure Intrigue

**A/N: Firstly a big thank you to the story follows This always makes me happy to see :) This chapter focuses on Remus' point of view. I will be alternating p.o.v throughout this story. It's been a while since I've written as Remus, so please forgive any mistakes. I will attempt to get better! Feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you. :)**

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Remus dutifully followed this refreshingly cheerful and intriguing woman as she led the way to the back of the shop, her blonde curls bouncing around her shoulders. He was amazed at how casually she'd taken his appearance in her stride, it was not often that people could cast a thorough look at him without either sneering or simply walking in the opposite direction.

It had taken all his strength to find the nerve to make the short trip to Diagon Alley this afternoon, but he'd known the minute he'd looked at his dress robes that he had no choice in the matter; especially with the new school term a matter of weeks away. Of course, he'd waited until he knew the cobbled street would be quiet, like he always did. However when he'd stepped through the door of Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions, he'd been most surprised to see a young woman, and no sign of Madam Malkin. His lips twitched slightly to display a small hint of a smirk, his entrance had caused a surprise all of its own as well. His finger absently trailed across his lips as the memory of seeing this woman's pale skin flushed pink floated to the forefront. It had been thrilling, only he wasn't quite sure why.

"Here we are.. Now, which colour would you like?"

Remus' eyebrows knitted together as he considered her question, he'd never taken to giving much thought about his appearance and had always favoured mute colours; so as to not draw attention to himself. "I do like the colour I have" He glanced down at the extremely worn sleeve of his current dress robes and chuckled softly to himself. "Or rather, had" Brown eyes met blue and he was surprised to see such an amused look on her face, he rarely raised a smile from other people these days. This one thing was the key factor in his disbelief that this woman was any relative of Madam Malkin. For starters she was far too happy, not that this was an abhorrent quality, in fact he found it quite enchanting; but everyone knew that Madam Malkin did not have a sunny disposition. He was snatched from his musings as her small hand softly ran over his sleeve, and he watched her with barely contained curiosity as she examined the fabric for a brief moment.

"I believe the colour was slate grey?"

The way her forehead creased as she looked at him quizzically was in the most simplest of terms, adorable and he found himself smiling a little deeper. "Yes, I do vaguely remember it resembling a grey.." He glanced down at his arm once more, realising that her hand had not moved from its spot. The sensation was odd, almost soothing but it had been such a long time since he'd allowed anyone to touch him for a prolonged period of time without jerking away from the contact. He blinked slowly and cleared his throat in an attempt to signal his own feelings of awkwardness before lifting his soft gaze to look at her. Once again, he found himself looking at her adorable expression with a fond one of his own, especially when realisation and embarrassment spread across her face like wildfire.

"My sincere apologies Mr Lupin!"

He watched as she attempted to shake the red from her cheeks with an almost confused expression upon his features. There was no reason for her to feel so embarrassed, was there? His normally sharp mind seemed to process this situation far too slowly for his liking. What was it that he was missing? And why did it bother him so much? "I wonder if it would be possible for a lighter fabric choice could be used this time around?" He lightly sniffed, his change of subject more of a distraction to his own mind than to alleviate her obvious embarrassment. "I know I said I knew very little about fabrics, and that is indeed correct. However, I feel as though these dress robes I'm currently wearing were a little on the heavy side" He frowned at the garment currently hanging limply from his body.

"Of course! We can make it exactly as you wish Mr Lupin"

Remus nodded with satisfaction at her words, she really was doing everything she possibly could to put his needs first, a concept that was completely foreign to him as an individual but not necessarily as a customer, which meant finally he was seeing evidence that she was in fact related to Madam Malkin. His head tilted to one side as she appeared to be searching for a suitable fabric, he tucked a hand into his pocket and listened as she began to hum happily to herself as she worked; a light and airy sound that was relaxing. How had such a bright spirit been hidden from him for so long? He'd been coming to this shop faithfully every year and not once had he ever met or even heard of Daniella Malkin, a fact that perplexed him immensely. "Have you been working here long?" He scratched at his cheek softly before continuing, reasoning that his tone could be perceived as accusatory. "I'm just trying to understand why I've never had the chance to meet you before now"

He smiled as she turned her head to face him, he felt almost like he'd known her far longer than he had in actuality, and he felt as though they'd been friends for so long. Of course, as wonderful as that feeling was he was no fool, he'd have to fight his instincts in order to maintain a distance that would enable her complete safety. As her lips spread into a warm and bright smile, he knew that it would take all of his strength to do this.

"Just a few days this time, although I used to help most summers when I was at Hogwarts"

Remus nodded softly at her answer. "Will you be staying for long?" He had no real idea why he felt the intense urge to ask such a question, but they prompted his usual self loathing thoughts, one of them being that a woman as beautiful as she was would never wish to speak to him outside the confines of this shop. "I'm sure your aunt will be glad of the company" He added with a small sniff, avoiding her gaze.

"I doubt that she will Mr Lupin.."

He arched a brow at her words, sensing a small hint of resentment in her words. If he had to guess, there wasn't much love lost between Miss Malkin and her aunt, and like a moth drawn to a flame, he knew he had to discover the reason why.


End file.
